NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College volleyball team began its weekend of back-to-back matches with a 25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-9 victory over visiting Bethel University in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Friday evening at Skoglund Center.

After the teams alternated set wins in each of the first four sets, the trend continued in the fifth set, as St. Olaf (11-10, 4-2 MIAC) raced out to a 7-1 lead and held on the rest of the way to earn a split of the two regular-season meetings with Bethel (12-7, 4-2 MIAC). Both teams received votes in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll.

Junior Anysia Caille recorded a career-high 17 kills in the win for the Oles, who got 15 kills from junior Catherine Moore and 12 kills on 16 swings from fifth-year senior Katelyn Lannom. First year Taylin Gosch handed out 27 assists, while classmate Paige Christophersen added 26 to go with a career-high five aces. St. Olaf had 13 aces in the win, compared to just two for Bethel, to help overcome the visitors' advantage in attack percentage (.253-.208).

Senior Selena Rodriguez led the Oles defensively with 23 digs to go along with five assists and a rare kill. First year Morgan Ryan added 18 digs, Christophersen recorded 15 to post a double-double, and senior Christina Cheng made 14 digs. The match featured 28 ties and 15 lead changes over the five sets.

Despite being outhit by a .256-to-.158 margin in the opening set, the Oles won the set, 25-22. The set included nine ties and four lead changes, the last of which came when St. Olaf closed the set on a 4-0 run after trailing 22-21. Down by a point, sophomore Maycie Rogers tied the score with a kill before Caille gave St. Olaf a one-point lead with a kill of her own. Senior Nicole Banitt added her lone two kills of the set on the final two points to give the Oles a one-set advantage.

Bethel hit .333 in the second set and got a combined 11 kills from Kirstin Cotter and Dani Friedges to even the match at a set apiece. St. Olaf forced the visitors to use both their timeouts early on by taking a 14-9 lead and held the lead until the Royals won six-straight points to take the lead for good at 22-18.

Caille had seven kills on 16 errorless swings in the third set to help St. Olaf go up by a set again. The Oles trailed by as many as nine early on at 12-3 but came storming back to tie the set at 15-15. With Bethel leading 21-19, St. Olaf won five-straight points – four on Bethel errors – to bring up set point and closed it out on Caille's seventh kill of the set.

In the fourth set, the Royals turned an early 8-4 deficit into a 10-8 lead with an early 6-0 run. Bethel held onto the lead the rest of the set, breaking an 18-18 tie with a 5-2 run to prompt a St. Olaf timeout. Lannom registered a kill out of the stoppage, but the visitors won the next two points to send the match to a decider.

After a kill by Cotter on the opening point of the fifth set, St. Olaf won seven-straight points – three on kills by Lannom – to force Bethel to use both of its timeouts before the midway point of the set. Bethel saved three match points with the Oles leading 14-6 before Lannom finished off the win with her 12th kill of the night. St. Olaf hit a match-best .318 in the fifth set, compared to .000 for Bethel.

The Oles finish their run of four-straight home matches by facing No. 18-ranked Augsburg University on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 4 p.m.